Two-phase pulse width modulation (PWM) DC-DC buck converters use two output inductors, each carrying half the total load current being switched to operate at half the switching frequency. Using two inductors in the output stage also provides the ability to better distribute heat dissipation, which can be a significant problem with high-current output converter designs.
Multi-phase, interleaved, synchronous DC-DC buck converters are commonly used as point-of-load regulators which need low output voltages and handle fast dynamic load changes. These modular or embedded point-of-load converters, which are known as voltage regulators (VRs), generally regulate output voltages, often as low as 0.6V, which support highly dynamic and fast slew rate current loads. In a majority of applications these VRs are powered from a regulated 12 V input power supply.